138 



which is found in Gh. XI of the Nihongi', is written with 

 the character ^ , kHu, which means a horned dragon ^. Aston ^ 

 says: "The River-Gods have no individual names. They are called 

 generally midzu-chi or water-father. Japanese dictionaries describe 

 the midzu-chi as an animal of the dragon species with four legs. 

 Hepburn, in his Japanese-English Dictionary, calls it a large 

 water-snake. The difference is not material. The dragon-kings of 

 Chinese myth (of whom Toyotamahiko is an echo) are in India 

 the Naga Eaja,, or cobra-kings". After having stated that River- 

 gods are prayed to for rain in time of drought, Aston gives a 

 translation of the above-mentioned interesting passage of the 

 Nihongi, which we may quote in extenso : 



"A. D. 379 (67th year of the Emperor Nintoku). This year, 

 at a fork of the River Kahashima, in the central division of 

 the Province of Kibi, there was a great water-dragon (piizuchi) 

 which harassed the people. Now when travellers were passing 

 that place on their journey, they were sure to be affected 

 by its poison, so that many died. Hereupon Agatamori, the 

 ancestor of the Omi of ,Kasa, a- man of fierce temper and of 

 great bodily strength, stood over the pool of the river-fork and 

 flung into the water three whole calabashes, saying: 'Thou art 

 continually belching up poison and therewithal plaguing travellers. 

 I will kill thee, thou water-dragon ( ^L ). If thou canst sink these 

 calabashes, then will I take myself away, but if thou canst not sink 

 them, then will I cut thy body to pieces'. Now the water-dragon 

 changed itself into a deer and tried to draw down the calabashes, 

 but the calabashes w^ould not sink. So with upraised sword he 

 entered the water and slew the water-dragon. He further sought 

 out the water-dragon's fellows. Now the tribe of all the water- 

 dragons filled a cave in the bottom of the pool. He slew them 

 every one, and the water of the river became changed to blood. 

 Therefore that water was called the pool of Agatamori"*. 



Aston also refers to another passage of the Nihongi (Ch. XI, 

 p. 197), where we read about a similar experiment with two 

 calabasses, by which a man who was to be offered to a river-god 

 saved his life. It was in the eleventh year of the Emperor 

 Nintoku's reign (A. D. 323), and the Emperor had dreamt that 

 a god pointed out to him two men, who had to be sacrificed to 

 the god of the Northern river, in order to enable the people to 

 complete the embankment, which gave way in two places. One 



IK.T.K., Vol. I, p. 209. 2 See above, p. 73. 



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